Insect repellent layered strip

ABSTRACT

Nail polish remover strips are pre-sized for toe or fingernails and applied to a painted or artificial nail and left thereon for a predetermined period of time to dissolve the nail polish and/or nail bonding agent. Preferably a color change occurs to depict the appropriate dwelling time to dissolve the nail polish. Certain embodiments include odor reducing components. Preferably the strips are layered composites having an exterior odor impervious material, a layer of encapsulated acetone or nail polish removing agent, an absorbent layer, and a peelable backing, with the strips being sized to accommodate contact with a person&#39;s nail.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/611,458, filed Feb. 2, 2015 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,398,209, issuedSep. 3, 2019), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/502,097 filed on Sep. 30, 2014 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,010,340,issued Apr. 21, 2015), which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/307,651 filed on Jun. 18, 2014 (now U.S. Pat.No. 8,936,030, issuing Jan. 20, 2015), which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/079,054 filed on Nov. 13, 2013(now U.S. Pat. No. 8,757,173, issuing Jun. 24, 2014), which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/425,913 filed onMar. 21, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,584,685, issued Nov. 19, 2013), whichclaims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/467,767filed on Mar. 25, 2011. The entire disclosure of the prior applicationsare considered to be part of the disclosure of the accompanyingapplication and are hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to nail polish remover strips, and moreparticularly to fingernail and toe nail sized tabs or strips that can beapplied to a painted or artificial nail and left thereon for apredetermined period of time to dissolve the nail polish and/or nailbonding agent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Fingernail polish and artificial fingernails are in widespread use ascosmetic enhancements, and are applied by the consumer as well as byprofessionals in salons. Artificial fingernails are typically producedeither by gluing on pre-manufactured acrylic fingernails, or built upusing an artificial fingernail form to apply layers of acrylic materialsthat are shaped to form an artificial fingernail. Although modernmaterials and methods enable very real looking artificial fingernails tobe produced, it is necessary to periodically repair or remove theartificial fingernails. Artificial nails such as, for example, acrylic,gel or silk, linen or fiberglass wraps, have become popular and suchproducts are applied or bonded onto the natural nail to provide auniform appearance and then a nail polish or lacquer is applied toprovide color and/or to cover the sculpting product used to form theartificial nail. Nail polish or lacquer products are applied as atemporary decoration and/or to improve the strength of the underlyingnail. Such nail polishes or lacquers are removed using commerciallyavailable solvents in the form of nail polish removers.

Changing or removing a colored polish or lacquer from artificial nailscan be difficult since most commercially available nail polish removersmay damage the underlying sculpting product.

Artificial fingernails and fingernail polish are generally removed byimmersing the wearer's fingertips in a solvent to soften and dissolvethe polish and the glues and acrylics comprising the artificialfingernails. Acetone is generally used as the solvent. Acetone is avolatile material and evaporates quickly, producing gaseous compoundsthat may irritate the throat, lungs and eyes of exposed individuals.Further, acetone may damage adjacent furniture, carpet and other objectsif it is spilled or splashed onto these surfaces. Exposure to thegaseous compounds resulting from use of acetone generally does not posea problem for the average consumer, since the consumer is onlyrelatively infrequently exposed to these compounds. However,professional manicurists and beauticians may be exposed to acetone on adaily basis. Over time, contact with acetone can pose a serious healthhazard.

Various devices have been developed in the prior art in order tofacilitate the removal of fingernail polish and artificial fingernails,and especially to reduce the hazards associated with the use of strongsolvents to remove the fingernail polish and artificial fingernails.Many of these prior art device utilize covers to minimize evaporation ofthe solvent and to minimize exposure of the manicurist or wearer to thesolvent. Other devices include sponges, brushes or other scuffingmaterials to hasten softening and removal of the fingernail polishand/or artificial fingernails.

The task of removing nail polish typically involves administering thenail polish remover onto a human nail or artificial nail through the useof a cotton ball and rubbing the cotton ball containing nail polishremover on the human nail or artificial nail until the nail polish hasbeen removed. Soaking in such solutions is often employed, exposing notonly the finger or toenail surface but also the surrounding skin regionsthat never had any polish associated therewith. Absorbing such agentsinto the skin around the nail is something many wish to avoid. Methodsof removing nail polish or false nails is often an arduous and messyprocedure. There is a long felt but unsolved need for an inexpensive,easy safe and repeatable way to remove nail polish and artificial nails,especially one where both the customer and the nail professional are notunduly exposed to the often unpleasant and unhealthy odors, fumes andsmells of nail polish removal substances.

Accordingly, there is need for a method and apparatus for removingfingernail polish and artificial fingernails simultaneously from pluralfingers, which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and which maybe easily and comfortably used to remove fingernail polish and/orartificial fingernails from a wide range of different size hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to nail polish removing strips thatcan be applied to the surface of a polished nail and remain there untilthe polish is dissolved sufficiently to have it removed. In oneembodiment a color change is relied upon to signal to a person that thestrip has been in place on the polished nail (or artificial nail) for asufficient and predetermined time, namely a time sufficient to permitthe chemical dissolution of the polish or adhesives sought to be removedfrom the person's nail.

The present invention in certain embodiments includes either an acetonebased solution to remove nail polish or non-acetone based polishremovers. Solvents such as acetates, acetones and acetonitriles canweaken and/or dissolve the resins or sculpting products used to formand/or bond the artificial nail to the natural nail. In other contexts,there is a need to remove polish from artificial nails without damagingor compromising the integrity of the resins or sculpting products usedto form the artificial nail. Such a nail removal substance is retainedprimarily in a pad or absorbent region that is positioned next to aperson's nail for a predetermined period of time sufficient to largelyor completely remove polish associated with the nail. The removalsubstance is preferably contained in-between an outer odor reducinglayer and a removable strip laminate. Once removed, the strip laminatethus exposes the nail polish removing saturated pad to the nail polishsurface. Preferably adhesive is employed to maintain the strip in placefor a predetermined time to permit the nail polish to be dissolved. Suchadhesive may be provided along the periphery of the strip so that themajority of the nail contacting surface does not have adhesive—and sothat the adhesive is not also dissolved prior to the strip being in pacefor the desired amount of time. In other embodiments a color change isrelied upon to signal to a person that the strip has been in place onthe polished nail (or artificial nail) for a sufficient andpredetermined time. Such color change can be for the entire strip; itmay be for a portion of the strip (e.g. such as a portion that is notalso involved in the provision of nail polish removing material to thenail—and thus is merely associated with the removal of the bottomlaminate to trigger a time frame within which a color change will occur.The purpose of the color change is to warn a person that the nail polishremoval substance or agent has been in place a predetermined period oftime.

The type of amount of nail polish remover that can be used with thepresent invention can vary depending on many factors, such as apreference, whether there is a sensitivity to any particular agent, etc.As for non-acetone remover compositions, one alkyl nitrite solvent thatis suitable includes isobutyl nitrite. Isobutyl nitrite has the chemicalformula C.sub.4H.sub.9NO.sub.2 and can be alternatively referred to asnitrous acid, isobutyl ester; nitrous acid, 2-methylpropyl ester; andIBN. Isobutyl nitrite is very stable and has a moderate toxicity level.In particular, isobutyl nitrite has an inhalation toxicity level ofabout 600 ppm in vapor which makes it less toxic than previous nailpolish removers. For example, acetonitrile, which has an inhalationtoxicity level of about 60 ppm in vapor, is ten times more toxic thanisobutyl nitrite. Thus, in accordance with certain embodiments, a vaporphase of the nail polish remover suitably includes less than about 600ppm isobutyl nitrite.

Isobutyl nitrite has a pleasant and fruity odor. Preferably, the nailpolish remover includes isobutyl nitrite that is greater than or equalto about 20% pure isobutyl nitrite, and even more preferably includesisobutyl nitrite greater than or equal to about 50% pure isobutylnitrite, and even more preferably at least about 80% to about 95% byvolume isobutyl nitrite.

Nail polish removers generally contain acetone, acetonitriles, benzene,aromatic nitrites, alcohol and/or ethyl acetate as the activeingredient. Still others comprise ethyl acetate, acetone and/oracetonitrile-free nail polish remover containing isobutyl nitrite andbutylated linseed oil for removing nail polish.

Still other non-acetone containing nail polish removers have a reducedlevel of toxicity and a more pleasing odor.

Compositions included with the present invention include a hygroscopicstabilizer to reduce degradation of the nail polish remover and/orindividual components or ingredients in the nail polish remover uponexposure to aqueous media. In preferred embodiments, the nail polishremover includes or contains about 0.25% to about 2% by volumehygroscopic stabilizer, such as butylated linseed oil. It can alsoinclude one or more inactive ingredients such as sodium bicarbonate,silicone, isobutyl alcohol, calcium chloride, and water. a plasticsleeve containing glass ampoule, or similar tool.

In one embodiment, a strip of the present invention is contacted with apolished nail for a period of at least about 3 minutes, more preferablyat least about 5 minutes, and less than about 10 minutes.

Preferably the strips have both desired adhesive qualities so that theyremain in place on a nail for the desired period of time, as well ashaving the polish-dissolving abilities conferred by the active agents,such as acetone or non-acetone polish removing compositions.

In one particular embodiment, clear or substantial transparent stripshave either acetone or non-acetone compositions provided with eitherboth sides of a dual-layered strip (with polish removing compoundsprovided therebetween) and the strip is positioned on the surface of anail to permit the polish removing composition to dissolve nail polishit comes into contact with. In one particular embodiment, when clearnail polish is removed, a color change agent or indicator is provided sothat after about 5 minutes of contact between the strip and the polishednail, there is a color change sufficient to indicate to the person towhom such strip has been applied to appreciate that such time period haspassed and is presumably sufficient to have removed and/or substantiallydissolved the nail associated polish. In certain embodiments, the topmost cover contains a color change agent such that when the acetonebeads are crushed, thereby releasing the acetone into the belowabsorbent pad, the acetone also reacts with color change agentsassociated with a top cover and/or the absorbent pad, such that a usercan discern a color change after a predetermined amount of time. Suchtime period can be set through adjusting chemical reaction between theacetone and a color change agent such that, for example, after aboutfive minutes, the color change takes effect so that a user willappreciate and notice that such time period has expired and thus thenail polish removing device should be detached from the person's nail tothereby avoid any unpleasant and/or undesired further contact betweenthe person's nail/skin and the acetone (or any other nail polishremoving agent). One of skill in the art will appreciate that the topcover of the device as pictured in FIG. 6 can be transparent and/or initself may be of a particular color. Preferably, the top most cover issubstantially transparent such that not only the crushing and frangiblenature of the nail polish containing beads can be discerned (thusensuring that substantially all beads are crushed to release the nailpolish removing material), but such transparency also facilitiesdetecting the timed color change after a predetermined amount of timefrom the fracturing of the nail polish containing beads and the reactionwith the color change agent. One of skill in the art will appreciatethat the color change agent can again be associated with the top cover,the absorbent pad, the layer upon which nail polish removing beads areaffixed, or otherwise. The important aspect is that a color change isperceived at a predetermined time and this aspect of the presentembodiments provides a built in safety feature so that the strips arenot misused, either consciously or unconsciously by a user orprofessional nail cosmologist. One will also appreciated, however, thatother color changing methods and devices can be employed in associationwith various aspects of the present invention. For example, the topcover can in addition contain a layer that once removed changes color inabout five minutes, whether or not such color change is directlyassociated with a chemical reaction with a nail polish removingsubstance, such as acetone.

A reagent, such as sodium nitroprusside may react with an acetone or anassociated component, such as typically acetoacetic acid, to form apurple complex with the reagent. A reagent color change from pink toshades of increasingly dark purple provides a rough quantitative measureof acetone. The reactive ingredients of the reagent may be, for example,urease and bromthymol blue under a permeable membrane. The urease reactswith the urea to hydrolyze the urea to carbon dioxide and ammoniumhydroxide. The liberated ammonium hydroxide increases the pH and theshift in alkalinity is indicated by the change in hue of the bromthymolblue. To achieve the range desired, the reagent zone may be impregnatedwith 3.2 I.U. of urease and 33 mcg. bromthymol blue. A non-reactiveyellow dye may also be added to the reagent to provide a convenientcolor scale change from yellow through green to dark blue-green forcomparison with a color block grid.

As depicted in certain of the figures, in a preferred embodiment thenail polish removing strips and/or pads are individually curved so as toapproximate the curvature of a person's nails. This facilitates a morerigid provision of nail polish removing strips or pads and avoids theundesired planar or flat nature of a pad that may detract from desiredsurface contact with a person's nail once in place. Preformed curvedpads or strips also may eliminate or reduce the need for adhesives tosecure the nail polish removing strips or pads for the predeterminedamount of time that contact is required with a person's nail to removenail polish associated therewith. In other words, the curvature of thepad or strip itself may facilitate placement and retention of the nailpolish removing device on the nail even without any application of anyadhesive. In still other embodiments, placement and retention of thenail polish removing device on the nail even without any application ofany adhesive. In still other embodiments, rubber bands, bandages, orother adhesive devices can be employed in addition to the present deviceto secure individual strips or pads around a person's finger or toe if amore secure attachment is desired. In still other embodiments, thestrips are flexible and/or deformable so that they maintain a desiredcurve once applied to a nail, thus assisting in holding the strip incontact with the nail, either with or without adhesives.

The typical need to rub acetone repeatedly on a polished nail to removeundesired old polish is difficult if not impossible for older adults.Thus, such individuals are compelled to have another person, typically aprofessional pedicurist or nail salon employee, thus resulting in a moreexpensive endeavor. Thus, there is a need for more aged or less flexibleadults to remove nail polish off of their toes in a fashion that doesnot involve the sustained contortions typically required to rub cottonballs soaked in acetone or other polish removal agents on one'stoenails.

In certain embodiments, the ease of a person being able to travel with aself-contained system that permits them to remove shellac and gel nailproducts is facilitated by providing an acetone impermeable material,such as foil, associated with an absorbent layer that is soaked withacetone (or other effective solvent) at a time at or shortly after thenail of the person is contacted by the absorbent material. Instead ofhaving to carry with them a separate bottle of acetone, cotton balls,foil, etc. the present invention provides a way to avoid the hassle,mess, and need for various separate materials to accomplish the simpletask of removing material from a person's nails. As one will appreciate,the manner in which the soaked absorbent material is held in closecontact with the nail for the desired period of time can vary, such asby having the toe or finger wrapped by the foil with the saturatedabsorbent material being held in contact with the nail, or alternativelyby having an adhesive region that adheres the impermeable material (e.g.foil) to particular portions of the person's nail surrounding tissue. Incertain embodiments there are provided structural barriers that precludethe ability of acetone/solvent to reach adhesive regions around the nailitself, thus limiting the prospect that the foil band-aide-like materialwill fall off the person's nail prior to the pre-determined timerequired for the acetone/solvent to dissolve the gel/shellac, etc. onthe nail's surface. For example, a crease or small wall structure, orboth, in the impermeable materiel can be provided such that the acetonethat soaks the absorbent material will be directed by the physicalstructures such that the dissolving abilities of the solvent/acetone aredirected away from the adhesive regions and otherwise substantiallyprecluding the migration of the solvent/acetone to travel to theadhesive contacting regions adjacent the nail. In certain embodiments, afoil wrap having an absorbent material associated therewith (e.g. bybonding to the foil, glued, etc.) has an ampoule—or more preferably apopule—filled with a solvent, such as acetone, associated with theabsorbent material—preferably by being in-between the foil and theabsorbent material, but may also be glued or otherwise attached to theabsorbent material—or a region adjacent to the absorbent material. By“popping” the popule filled with solvent, the absorbent material issaturated sufficiently to provide a shellac and gel removing agent thatis permitted to reside on the surface of the person's nail for a desiredperiod of time to effectively dissolve the material present on the nail.In a preferred embodiment, the popule has two different compartmentssuch that a color change agent is released from one compartment when thepopule is popped, thus initiating a predetermined time period prior to aperceptible color change to be perceived by a use.

In still other embodiments the encapsulation of the acetone/solvent isachieved via the enclosure of both the acetone/solvent and theassociated absorbent material, rather than merely the solvent/acetoneitself. Thus, in a particular embodiment, a foil nail-sized material hasan acetone saturated absorbent material associated and in contact withthe foil, the acetone prevented from evaporating by encapsulating thesaturated surface of the material with an acetone impermeable material,such as another portion (or folded) of foil material. In one embodiment,two foil portions, with a saturated acetone absorbent materialtherebetween, is sonically and/or heat sealed together, such that thetwo foil portions encapsulate the saturated acetone absorbent pad in afashion such that the acetone does not evaporate, but rather isencapsulated within the foil enclosure. Opening such enclosure, viapulling apart the foil material portions apart to provide one foilportion having the acetone saturated absorbent material associatedtherewith, thus enabling the saturated absorbent material to besufficiently wet so that material on the nail surface can be dissolvedwithin a predetermined time. While gluing an acetone saturated absorbentpad to foil poses some practical problems, there are other ways toposition the soaked acetone pad in a desired position adjacent the foilmaterial, such as by structurally providing a perforated foil pocketwithin which the acetone saturated pad can reside, with acetone able totraverse through the perforations in the foil pouch material when placedadjacent the nail surface. In addition to foil, other suitable materialsto constrain acetone, such as rigid polyethylene, conventionalpolypropylene, polyvinylchloride, and polytetrafluoroethylene. Asdepicted in FIGS. 3-8, one of skill in the art will appreciate the vastvariety of structures that can be produced via the guidance providedherein, where a sufficient and desired and/or effective amount ofacetone (or other suitable solvent) is included in an encapsulatedenclosure, such as one made from an acetone resistant material, toachieve the function of removing nail polish, removing gel shellacand/or artificial nail surfaces.

In terms of amount of acetone, it is believed that at least about 0.5 mland preferably around 1 ml is what works best for most removalprocedures. More acetone than can be readily employed to coat the nailand remove gel or shellac, etc. from the nail, threatens to causeunnecessary leakage, dripping of acetone, as well as presents thedifficulties associated with the acetone reaching any adhesive portionof the device, thus either making the glue tacky or worse, potentiallynon-effective. In various embodiments, the adhesive, even if contactedeventually (e.g. over the approximately 10 or so minutes required toremove conventional shellac or gel coatings,) will remain sufficientlytacky so that the nail contacting portions remain effective and inplace, despite the increasing tackiness (and thus slow decline of theadhering abilities of the adherent material associate with the device.)

In certain embodiments, a foil wrap structure suitable for wrappingaround a person's finger, is provided with a stamp sized (e.g.fingernail sized) portion of absorbent material, such as sun lacedfabric, plastic weave material (preferably suitable for use withacetone) or cotton, and an encapsulated vial, ampoule, capsule (muchlike a gel capsule for Advil™), popule, etc. is associated adjacent tothe absorbent material. Incorporated herein by this reference is U.S.Patent Publication No. 20130074859 to Schaeffer et al., illustrating atype of foil wrap suitable for various embodiments. The association maybe via adhesive bonding, but may also be via a physical pocket formed inthe absorbent material that can contain at least the majority of theencapsulated solvent material in a manner such that the capsule, forexample, it restrained in association with the absorbent material. Whilein preferred embodiments, the capsule (which will be understood to beemployed herein as an example of other similar structures) ispre-associated with the absorbent material upon manufacture of theindividual nail strips as described herein, other embodiments includethe ability for an end-user to place the capsule near the absorbentmaterial just prior to us, such as placing the capsule of solvent insidea pre-formed pocket in the absorbent material, designed to retrain thecapsule. After the capsule is positioned next to the absorbent material,the foil wrap material is placed around a person's nail surface suchthat the absorbent material, now having the capsule residing in suchpocket (or otherwise associated therewith), positioned just above and incontact with the surface of the nail.

The foil wrap material is then secured in place to the person's fingerby one of several ways, such as by simply wrapping the foil around thefinger, thus securing it to the person's finger so that it cannot easilyfall off; by having another stricture member associated around the foilsuch that it is secured to the person's nail; and most preferably, byhaving an adhesive portion around at least the periphery of the nailregion such that the foil can adhere to the skin regions adjacent theperson's nail, preferably on at least two opposite sides of the person'snail region, more preferably on three sides (i.e. opposing sides and thebottom of the nail region); and in some embodiments, also including thetop portion region of a person's nail. Preferably the adhesive is placedon the foil material such that a person employing such strips can stillreadily manipulate a magazine or book or iPad or phone, etc. withoutdifficulty. Thus, while wrapping a person's individual fingers with foilso as to secure the capsule containing solvent in close association withthe person's nail, such wrapping of the finger causes some discomfortand is awkward when one is trying to read a magazine, etc. thus, oneadvantage of certain embodiments is that by having adhesive placedstrategically about the nail region, the absorbent material with thesolvent-containing capsule associated therewith, is positionedeffectively against the nail surface and is held in place sufficientlysecurely, for the desired time it takes to permit the solvent to do itsfunction, once it is released from the capsule. Although the use ofcertain solvents, such as acetone, is likely to dissolve the adhesivethat is provided around the periphery of the nail region, the vastmajority of the solvent, via the construction of the absorbent material,as well as other solvent blocking structures that can be included,suffice to permit the strip to reside on the surface of the nail for asufficient period of time, e.g. at least about 3 minutes, morepreferably at least about 5 minutes and more preferably at least about10 minutes, such that the solvent dissolving work and purpose of thesolvent on the nail surface is achieved prior to the strip beingdisplaced from the surface of the nail.

The manner in which a capsule can be fractured in order to release itssolvent contents is variable and will be understood by those of skill inthe art. Preferably, the capsule is constructed in a manner that it issufficiently robust such that mere transport and packaging of the stripscontaining such capsules does not cause any leakage or breakage of suchcapsules. Instead, the design of capsules is such that they arefrangible with a considerable amount of force being directly appliedthereto once the strips are placed on the nail surface, as describedabove. In certain embodiments, once positioned as described above, theoutside foil material is grasped by the user's other hand/fingers (orinstead by a salon assistant) and pressure applied downward, toward thenail surface, is applied in a fashion so as to pop or otherwise rupturethe capsule structure, thus permitting the solvent contained therein tobe released in a fashion sufficient to be absorbed by the surroundingabsorbent material. The amount of force required to achieve thisbreakage of the capsule may vary, but preferably is about the sameamount required for a person to break a bubble-wrap bubble by pressingdown thereon. The capsule can be manufactured in a fashion such the oneor more portions thereof are intentionally designed to be weaker thansurrounding material, thus facilitating a more directional fracture ofthe capsule. For example, the capsule may have one weaker side beingglued or placed next to the absorbent material, with the opposing sidecloser to the foil surface being more robust and stronger, upon which aperson applies pressure, thus causing the weaker region of the capsuleto burst first, and release of the solvent then being better directed tothe absorbent material, rather than to other regions of the strip, e.g.toward the adhesive regions on some strips where one would prefersolvent to be directed away from.

In still other embodiments, the fracturing of the capsule of solvent canbe achieved in any other effective and desired manner, such as byproviding a sharpened aspect of the foil wrap material such that whenpressed, the sharpened aspect is directed toward the capsule so that thecapsule is punctured, thus releasing the solvent inside.

In one embodiment where two materials are to be released (such as thesolvent to remove nail polish and a color change agent), a divider maybe employed that may comprise a membrane having one or more zones ofweakness, such as a declivity or score line, such that when the hollowbody is bent, pressed, crushed, flexed, or compressed along the zone ofweakness, an opening is created in the divider, permitting the contentsof the first compartment and the second compartment to mix. In otherembodiments, one or more puncture tips may be provided along an innersurface of the hollow body retaining the solvent, color change agent,etc. When a compressive, bending or flexing force is applied against thepuncture tips, the tips puncturely engage the divider and form anopening therein, permitting the contents to saturate the absorbentmaterial. The hollow body that holds the solvent, color change agent,etc. is preferably manufactured from a gas and liquid impermeable, heatsealable material that is suitable for thermal bonding or sonic welding.This material is preferably flexible—or at least crushable via manualcompression, so that the user will be able to manually manipulate thecontents of the compartments. An exemplary material is commerciallyavailable Mylar-polyethylene barrier layer material. Other suitablematerials include high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene,polyvinylchloride, and the like. Suitable materials for making liquidimpermeable film include polyolefins, such as polyethylene andpolypropylene; polyvinyl acetate; and the like. The absorbent materialand the solvent containing reservoir may be joined to the by such meansas adhesives, ultrasonic welding, heat bonding, and the like.

The hollow body preferably has an opening at a first end, and afrangible seal that closes the opening to retain the contents housed inthe hollow body. In one embodiment, the frangible seal comprises a thinmembrane, for example, thin films of plastic or aluminum foil can beheat sealed to the hollow body to cover the opening in the first end.Upon bending the walls of the hollow body at or near the frangible seal,the seal is broken. In another embodiment, the frangible seal comprisesa cover having a zone of weakness, such as one or more score lines sothat when a compression force is applied near the cover, the score linesare broken, permitting fluid to pass therethrough. Other exemplaryfrangible seals are disclosed in Truhan, U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,259 andU.S. Patent Publication No. 20120148636 to Berrido et al.—which areincorporated herein by this reference.

An absorbent material preferably is of a known type, including but notlimited to cotton fibers or synthetic fibers, such as plastic fibers, ora semi-porous material, such as a sponge, preferably ones that areacetone resistant. When the frangible seal is broken, the contents ofthe hollow body are released into the absorbent material. Suitablesubstrate materials for the nail contacting portion of the strip havebeen described herein, but may include woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics,gauze, foams, sponges and the like.

The hollow interior of the solvent containing member defines a reservoirfor containing a liquid composition, such as the solvent, color changematerial, etc. and at least its proximal and distal ends are sealed toprovide a liquid tight seal. Preferably, a frangible seal is provided atdistal end that is liquid-tight prior to use of the strip. The frangibleseal is designed to preferably be weaker than the seal at its proximalend, thus when the solvent containing capsule is manipulated, forexample by squeezing with the fingers causing the frangible seal to bebroken, permitting the solvent or other liquid material in the reservoircan flow out. The plastic at the distal end of the stick may be firstthinned out and then sealed to provide frangible seal. Suitable designsfor material employing a hollow reservoir for use in the presentinvention are known in the art and are taught, for example, in U.S. Pat.No. 5,100,028, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference, albeit that the reservoirs are preferably smaller to enclosethem in the absorbent material of the strip. The reservoir material bemade of any suitable material including, but not limited to, plasticssuch as polyethylene, polypropylene, foil, and the like. The size of theliquid reservoir is sufficient to retain enough liquid for accomplishingthe desired function of nail polish removal, gel removal, shellacremover, etc. Still other patents that are incorporated herein by thisreference are U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,392 to Beaudry; U.S. Pat. No.8,696,227 to Carter; U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,194 to Barabino; and U.S. Pat.No. 7,025,521 to Tsaur, showing how various embodiments can be made.

While embodiments of the invention have been described in detail withrespect to the application of removing nail polish, gels, artificialnails, etc., one of skill in the art will appreciate that the novel andnonobvious aspects as described have applications in other areas andendeavors, such as in providing a variety of desired substances inassociation with an absorbent layer via employment of a frangiblecapsule that can contain such substance in association with an adhesiveportion so that the substance can be administered to the desired site.Thus, for example, a band-aid-like structure can be used in associationwith a capsule containing aloe or another wound healing substance, or apain killer, an allergesic, a medicine, a growth promoting material, acosmetic, a lotion, a muscle treatment gel, bug repellent, deodorant,anti-perspirant, etc. such that the affected area can be covered with anadhesive bandage and then at a desired time, the capsule associated withe absorbent material can be broken to release the desired pre-packagedsubstance or combination of substances. In one particular embodiment,the use of a capsule is employed that can contain more than onesubstance separated by frangible structures such that a combination ofsubstances can be delivered in a desired sequence and in a particularposition on a surface, such as a person's skin, so that the purposefulcombination of such substances can be achieved in an easy fashion. Thestrips of the present invention, by virtue of their encapsulatedfrangible structures associated with absorbent materials and barriers(either to retain solvent material from vaporizing into the air freely,or conversely, a barrier on the opposite side of the absorbent materialsuch that the material in the encapsulated structure is precluded fromcontacting an underlying surface and is instead, free to vaporize) findvarious uses that are accomplished in an easy, cost effective manner andenables one to carry the devices with them for use outside ofprofessional salons, medical clinics, etc.

One particular aspect of the present invention is directed to the fieldof insect repellents and specifically to personal area repellents. Thus,instead of acetone being encapsulated in a portion suitable for theremoval of nails when the capsule is broken, insect repellent substancesare encapsulated in a frangible shell such that release of such materialupon the selection of the user and in a fashion that can preventsubstantial skin contact with the insect repellent, is made possible. Incertain embodiments, the present invention is directed to an adhesivepatch or strip that can be contacted to a person's body and that has aninsect repellent capsule associated with the absorbent material that has(and preferably is surrounded by) adhesive material designed to contacta wearer's skin. Thus, in one embodiment, a band-aid-like product isprovided that has a capsule having insect repellent encapsulated in areservoir wherein the encapsulation is within a frangible enclosure thatis in contact with an absorbent material, such that when the capsule isbroken, the insect repellent material soaks the absorbent material andthus permits the repellent to emanate its vapors, and thus protection,from the site where the band-aid has been attached. Preferably a skinbarrier is provided such that the insect repellent material does notcontact the person's skin, but rather the barrier supports the layer ofencapsulated insect repellent such that when the frangible encapsulationis broken, the material soaks absorbent material on top of the barrier,and the insect repellent can then vaporize into the air surrounding thestrip. For written and enablement support for various features includedin the present invention, the following is hereby incorporated herein bythis reference: US Patent publication No. 20060226249 to Ketcha, et al.

Known methods for delivering insect repellents in a manner which is safeand efficacious tend to be dangerous, short-acting and inconvenient. Onemethod by which consumers protect themselves from insect bites andinsect landings is the use of topical repellents. Many topicalrepellents contain N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (“DEET”) as the activeingredient. Topical repellents contain relatively high amounts of insectrepellent that can be absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin.Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method anddevice for repelling insects by providing a more convenient, costeffective, user-friendly and effective device and method for repellinginsects as compared to the use of topical repellents in lotion orspray-on form.

DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) is a versatile and effective insectrepellent that has been used for more than 40 years by millions ofpeople worldwide to repel mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, biting flies andchiggers. Most bug repellents contain DEET because DEET is one of thefew insect repellents that work. It is recommended to preventmosquito-born diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and West Nilevirus. Other less effective repellents contain pyrethrins, a pesticidecreated from the chrysanthemum flower; neem leaf extract, neem oil,citronella and geraniol. Persons applying DEET to their skin may gethives or have mild redness and irritation. These symptoms are usuallymild and will go away when the product is removed from the skin. Personswho use very high concentrations of DEET on their skin over a longperiod of time (such as military personnel or game wardens) may havemore severe skin reactions that include blistering, burning, andpermanent scars of the skin. Other symptoms associated with long-termuse of high amounts of DEET (over 50% concentration) include insomniaand mood changes. By far, the most serious and devastating complicationof large DEET poisonings is neurological damage. Patients may havedisorientation, clumsiness when walking, seizures, or coma. Death ispossible in these cases. Users of DEET are warned to not apply it overcuts, wounds or irritated skin; to avoid spraying DEET on plastics (suchas watch crystals and eyeglasses frames), rayon, spandex, othersynthetic fabrics, leather and painted or varnished surfaces, becauseDEET can damage those surfaces. While typically effective, DEET productsmust be reapplied after several hours. Due to the problems it canpresent to humans, despite its effectiveness as a repellent, DEET istypically employed at rather low concentrations, with a concentration of10% to 30% used according to the directions on the product labels.

Among the drawbacks of DEET are that it possesses an unpleasant odor andimparts a greasy feel to the skin. Although it has recently beenre-registered for use in the US by the EPA, concerns have been raised asto its safety, particularly when applied to children. Studies havedemonstrated that high concentrations of DEET may give rise to allergicor toxic reactions in some individuals. Other disadvantages associatedwith DEET include that it (1) is a synthetic chemical having a limitedspectrum of activity; (2) is a powerful plasticizer and will dissolve ormar many plastics and painted surfaces; and (3) plasticizes the inertingredients typically used in topical formulations in order to lengthenthe time of effectiveness. This leads to DEET formulations with low useracceptability.

Recent clinical observations have shown that DEET insect repellent cancause severe central nervous system toxicity and even death from skinpenetration. This is a particularly significant problem for children whohave larger body surface area-to-mass ratios and higher skinpermeability. Additionally, children tend to lick their fingers andhands, which can cause them to ingest the insect repellents. Becauseinsect repellents are removed by skin absorption, evaporation,perspiration, and through participation in water activities, it must bereapplied at frequent intervals. The requirement for frequentreapplications results in a continual threat of systemic toxicity to theuser. The present invention provides a way to safely and effectivelyachieve insect repellent results without applying the active compounddirectly to the skin.

In various embodiments dealing with the encapsulation of an insectrepellent, the wearer of the adhesive device or strip preferably avoidshaving their skin directly contacted with a topical repellent material,but at the same time, benefits from having the repellent very close tothe skin of the wearer, thus achieving the benefits of having the vaporsthat repel insects, while not experiencing the topical absorption ofinsect repellent that is believed to be less than desirable from ahealth standpoint. Thus, in some embodiments, there is provided abarrier (e.g. a foil or plastic film or layer) between the absorbentlayer and the skin of a person such that the encapsulated insectrepellent, once the insect repellent capsule is broken and soaks theabsorbent material, does not contact the skin of the wearer of theadhesive strip. Instead, the breakage of the frangible enclosure ofinsect repellent causes the absorbent material to become somewhatsaturated in a manner that permits the insect repellent to relativelyslowly evaporate and cause protective vapors to surround the skin of thewearer of the strip, thus providing insect repellent protection withoutthe user experiencing any of the potentially harmful effects derivedfrom a topical application of the insect repellent materials.

It is an object of certain embodiments of the present invention toprovide a wearable personal protection device that can be worn on aperson and that rely on passive evaporation of the insect repellent outof a carrier impregnated therewith. Repellents may include DEET,geraniol, citronella, limonene, and pyrethroids such as allethrin.

The insect repellent strips of the present invention are advantageousover topical compositions for several reasons, including that they aremore convenient in that they do not require the time consuming task ofapplying lotion or a spray to clothing and exposed skin. The wearablestrips offer similar advantages to those of topical compositions withoutthe drawbacks, as they provide protection wherever the subject goes, aswould a topical composition when applied correctly.

Personal insect repellents, such as DEET-containing lotions and sprays,are commonly applied directly to the skin of a user and are recognizedas efficacious when so used. Some users, however, find such a treatmentto be aesthetically unsatisfactory. There exist treated wrist bands,patches and other treated materials to be worn or otherwise applied to auser's skin or clothing to repel mosquitoes, many employing citronellaas a repellent, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,656,282, (incorporated hereinby this reference) which teaches the use of patches attachable toclothing or limbs that disperse citronella. Use of transfluthrin,vaporthrin, and/or DDVP to control insects via passive evaporation isknown in the context of room insect control. See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos.6,582,714; and 6,534,079, also incorporated herein in their entiretiesby this reference. Similarly, publication 2004/0134999 (incorporatedherein by this reference) teaches the use of metofluthrin or profluthrinto passively evaporate and control insects for room control.

In certain embodiments of the present invention, dihydronepetalactonecompositions are employed in the encapsulated structures describedherein in addition to or in place of DEET compositions, as suchdihydronepetalactone compositions perform well as a new class ofeffective insect repellent compounds without the disadvantageousproperties characteristic of prior-art compositions.

In particular embodiments, insect repellents that may be encapsulatedand then employed on the strips of the present invention include thefollowing: a dihydronepetalactone, or a mixture of dihydronepetalactonestereoisomers, an aliphatic alcohol; a component selected from the groupconsisting of (i) one or more members of the group consisting of (AI)cyclo(ethoxy) methicone, (BI) bisphenyl hexamethicone, (CI)C.sub.24.about.C.sub.28 alkyl methicone, and (DI) cetyl dimethiconepolyol; (ii) one or more members of the group consisting of (AII) glycolricinoleate, (BII) polyglyceryl ricinoleate, (CII) propylene glycolricinoleate, and (DII) glyceryl ricinoleate; and (iii) octyldodecanol; acomponent (d) that comprises a C.sub.50.about.C.sub.650 branchedpolyhydroxy polyoxyethylene/polyoxypropylene block copolymer of ethylenediamine; a component (e) that comprises (i) a mixture of butyleneglycol, propylene glycol and methyl propanediol, and/or (ii) a mixtureof glycerol, methyl propanediol and isostearyl neopentanoate; and acomponent (f) that comprises one or more members of the group consistingof aminobenzoic acid, glyceryl aminobenzoic acid, oxybenzone,sulisobenzone, dioxybenzone and titanium dioxide.

In addition to DEET or in its place, various embodiments of compositionsthat may be encapsulated and used on strips of the present inventioninclude picaridin, with 5%-15% picaridin formulas being found comparablein effectiveness (2-6 hours) to low-concentration DEET; and naturalrepellents made from plants, e.g. oil of lemon eucalyptus, citronella,and soybean/geranium oils. Other effective insect repellents such aspermethrin can be applied to clothing—but not to a person's skin.Permethrin works mainly by killing ticks that come in contact with itand exposure should be minimized. Various compositions can be employedas insect repellents and thus, encapsulated together or separately (e.g.to provide choices for individuals as to type of substance they wish toemploy via breaking frangible encapsulations; dosage and timing ofadministration of an insect repellent). Thus, one aspect of theinvention involves the provision of an insect repellent strip (whichshould be understood in various embodiments to comprise a patch—ratherthan any rectangular-limited shaped product) having one or moreencapsulated insect repellent containing formulations that when releasedonto an absorbent material—(i.e. after the encapsulated structure isbroken)—a person is provided with an amount of insect repellent in aselectively desirable time period and in a desired amount. Thus, certainembodiments include more than one frangible encapsulated portion of aninsect repellent, such as DEET, so that if one desires a higherconcentration and/or increased volume of material, or on a more frequentadministration regime, to be made available to the absorbent material ofa strip as described herein, they can selectively compress and breaksuch enclosed capsules to release desired and pre-determined amounts ofthe insect repellent for the particular occasion. For example, ifsomeone is trekking through a mosquito infested area for several hoursand requires reapplication of a DEET containing formulation to achievedesired protection, but also desires to avoid skin contact with DEETproducts, then the ability to simply break one of several DEETcontaining capsules at a desired time period, thus permitting the DEETmaterial to soak the adjacent absorbent material, and then provide theprotection due to the vapors evolving from the now soaked absorbentmaterial, is an effective way to achieve insect repellent resultswithout undue skin exposure to DEET. The strips or patches may bestick-on patches, or may be in the form of wrist, ankle, arm or legbands, or may be in the form of pendants or medallions. The insectrepellent strips of the present invention are suitable to dispense atleast 0.01 mg of insect repellent per hour at 25.degree. C. in still airconditions. In certain embodiments, the insect repellent encapsulatedwithin the one or more capsules (which preferably each contain at leastabout 0.25 ml of an insect repellent composition), includes a pyrethroidinsect repellent selected from the group consisting of transfluthrin,metofluthrin, and profluthrin. The total amount of said insect repellentso applied is an amount effective to provide practical mosquito personalarea repellency. Preferably insect repellent is provided in at least 0.5ml encapsulated enclosures that are designed to be frangible upon aperson compressing such structures to cause the release of the contentsthereof, preferably being then absorbed onto the adjacent absorbentmaterial. To comply with written description and enablementrequirements, incorporated by reference in their entireties are thefollowing: U.S. Patent Publications and Patents: 20130095162 to Quinn,U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,820 to Bastar; U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,444 to Howard;2002-0160035 to Fotinos; U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,043 to Fischel-Ghodsian;20060188538 to Emmrich et. al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,748,477 to Scialdone;and 2002/0160035 to Kim.

In preferred embodiments, the strip includes absorbent material suitableto restrain the insect repellent once released from a frangibleenclosure, such as a substrate formed from a material selected from thegroup consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, nylon,rayon, cellulose acetate, wood pulp and cotton, and other non-wovenfabrics which may be spunbonded, spunlaced, spunlaid, melt blown, needlepunched, hydroentangled, latex bonded, and/or resin bonded.

The insect repellent strips may be placed at a variety of locations,such as around wrists or ankles, near the shoulders or chest, along thecalves or lower limbs, or on clothing adjacent to these positions.

In one embodiment, the insect repellent strip is comprised of amulti-layer structure, with an upper impregnatable non-woven fibermaterial layer adjacent to one or more encapsulated structurescontaining the insect repellent, an adhesive layer, and a peel-offlayer. Preferably, there is a barrier between the insect repellentencapsulated material and the skin of a user, such that no undesiredcontact with insect relent transpires. In other words, a person achievesprotection from insects without exposing themselves to having insectrepellent contact their skin directly, but instead, are able to applyadhesive strips that both protect the skin from insect repellent whilealso providing the advantages attained by having insect repellent on topof the particular skin surface.

The strips are of a type that can be readily and inexpensivelymanufactured. Further, they are of a size and weight that a consumerwould tolerate wearing. When the insect (preferably mosquito) repellentstrips are used, after the release of the encapsulated repellent intothe adjacent absorbent material, one achieves the vapors that arebelieved responsible for the mosquito-repelling effect. The mosquitostrips can also be applied to walls, furniture, tents, and householdappliances and can provide good mosquito-repelling effect.

Thus, in one embodiment, the insect repellent strip includes a pre-sizedstrip for adhesive engagement with a person's skin or clothing, suchstrip having an adhesive portion that is configured to contact the skinor clothing to hold such strip in place, where the strip has at leastfour layers, with a first layer comprising an exterior odor imperviousmaterial, a second layer that comprises one of encapsulated insectrepellent, a third layer having an insect repellent absorbent layer, anda fourth layer having a peelable backing; and wherein the insectrepellent is encapsulated in a frangible shell.

Certain advantages of use of the present invention include the abilityof a user to apply a strip to areas of their body desired to beprotected at some time and the later deployment of the insect repellentvia the purposeful breakage of at least one of the encapsulated capsulespresent on a strip so as to achieve the maximum protection with freshlyprovided repellent. The manner in which the frangible capsule can bebroken, e.g. with either a finger compressing the capsule sufficientlyhard downwardly against the skin surface upon which the strip is adheredto; by employment of a non-body part, such as a pencil or other hardobject by which to achieve the compressive force necessary to break thecapsule and thus release the insect repellent into the absorbentmaterial of the strip, etc., can vary. Importantly, however, it ispossible for a user of the strip to avoid any hand contact, andcertainly at least any substantial hand contact, with the insectrepellent whatsoever, but still achieve employment of the freshlyactivated and available insect repellent by breaking one or morefrangible encapsulated enclosures of the insect repellent. Thus, thedosage (e.g. via breaking one, two, three or more frangibleencapsulations of insect repellent); and the timing ofadministration/employment of insect repellent, is provided as anavailable option for a user. In certain situations such options thatavoid the necessity of having to use one's hands to physically contactinsect repellent lotions or creams to rub over parts of one's body toachieve insect repellent protection is critical, such as when anoutdoorsman is involved in other activities that do not readily permitthe rubbing of lotions on body parts. Thus, a white water rafter, amountain rope climber, a hunter, etc. by using the present invention,are able to simply cause one or more frangible encapsulations to breakthat are pre-positioned on the person's wrist, arm, ankles, thighs,etc., when actively engaged in other sporting/paddling/huntingactivities where having to either spray a can of insect repellent or rublotion on body parts would be not only inconvenient, but perhapsdangerous.

In certain other aspects of the present invention, embodiments includethe use of encapsulated substances in addition to insect repellent thatone may wish to employ at either the same time or at different times fordifferent purposes. For example, different dosages or concentrations ofan insect repellent may be desired at different times of day. A lighterdose of certain repellents may be desired in the morning when certaininsects may not be a problem, but a heavier dose or a completelydifferent formulation of repellent, may be desired at a different timeof day when certain insects may be more active. The wearer of a stripmay also desire to have a certain perfume aspect available to mask thesmell and odor of certain repellents, and thus, the breaking of one ormore encapsulations that contain a perfume or cyclodetrin component tomask or eliminate certain odors is made possible by the presentinvention. Strips can be made that include different sizedencapsulations (e.g. volumetric amounts) such that not only the type ofsubstance can be selected to be released from such frangible enclosures,but the user may select the volume of such substance to release at anytime.

The present invention also finds application in the companion pet fieldand veterinary field. The strips of the present invention provide theability to associate strips to pet collars or to other regions of apet's body (e.g. around a leg, on its hair, etc.) to provide the abilityto include various desired substances in encapsulated form such that thepet owner can break a frangible encapsulation of such desired materialto protect its pet from particular diseases, such as those associatedwith tics, etc. In one embodiment the strip is comprised of a layeredarticle comprising: an adhesive layer; and an insect repellent layerthat is encapsulated in one or more of the encapsulation structures asset forth herein, and may further include a copolymer, an ethylcellulose, and a thermoplastic polyurethane. Incorporated herein by thisreference in its entirety is US patent publication no. 20130251773 forparticular time release compositions that may be employed. Rea and tickrepellent and insecticides may be encapsulated as herein described andprovided on a strip such that the strips can be incorporated in petcollars, thus permitting the release of the active insect repellentagents onto the pet while the pet is wearing the collar to help controlfleas and ticks which come into contact with the animal, Such collarsare particularly adaptable for pets (or for horses, etc.) because it isdifficult to apply insect repellents and insecticides to animal skin andfur on a regular basis. To further comply with written description andenablement requirements, incorporated by reference in their entiretiesare the following US patents and publications: 20130095162 to Quinn,U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,820 to Bastar; U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,444 to Howard;20020160035 to Fotinos; U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,043 to Fischel-Ghodsian;20060188538 to Emmrich et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,748,477 to Scialdone;20120264788 to Ecker et al.; and 20020160035 to Kim.

In a particular embodiments, the frangible encapsulated enclosures ofrepellent material (although there can be other agents so encapsulated)may be present in a volume that exceeds some of the other embodimentsdescribed above with respect to the preferably 0.5 ml and 1 ml amounts.Thus, volumes of 2 ml, 4 ml, 10 ml or greater may be achieved to suitthe particular application and need. For example, if the strip is to beused for a small dog on its collar, it may only require one or just afew milliliters of active repellent ingredients. If a large horse isinvolved, however, a far greater volume of repellent may be required anddesired to have the desired effect of protecting the animal frominsects.

Various embodiments will also employ a color change agent to display toa pet owner (or in some embodiments the person wearing such strip) thatthe strip's frangible capsule has been broken. Still other color changeagents may be used to indicate the length of time that the device hasbeen employed, for example, how long the repellent has been broken outof (freed) from its frangible shell, such that a pet owner can decide toeither replace the strip or to break another of the unbroken frangibleencapsulations on the strip associated with the animal. A series offrangible encapsulations can thus be provided on any strip such that thedose, type or frequency of administration of an agent encapsulatedthereby can be released. Certain strips may have different sized anddifferent volume of encapsulations on the same strip to permit aselection of dosage; type of repellent employed at a given time, etc.Thus, in one example, a strip may have a DEET encapsulated frangibleshell as well as a non-DEET insect repellent, such the user (or patowner) may select which particular agent to employ at any given time.

Another aspect of the present invention is directed to the encapsulationof bioluminescent material in a manner such that the frangiblecapsule(s) can be active to trigger bioluminescent illumination uponfracturing of the frangible shell, thus releasing the material intopreferably the absorbent material. As one will appreciate, however, inother embodiments the bioluminescent material may be simply constrainedin another enclosure after the underlying frangible capsule is broken(thus triggering the activation of the bioluminescent material, suchthat the bioluminescent material will slosh around yet another enclosureon the strip, but without the use of any absorbent material).

One particular use of the strip embodiments that contain abioluminescent capsule, is that a pet owner can choose to break both acapsule filled with an insect repellent, as well as break a capsule onthe same strip that contains bioluminescent material, thus providing thepet with protection from some insects, and at the same time beingvisible at night for a certain period of time (e.g. until thebioluminescent material expires is illumination abilities.) Certainother embodiments include just the provision of a strip with one or morefrangible capsules of bioluminescent material that a pet owner, a parentof a child going treat or treating on Halloween, etc. can selectivelydetermine what illumination is desired via the breakage of more than onecapsule provided on the strip. Different colored bioluminescent materialmay be provided on individual strips, or may be provided in individualcapsules containing such different materials on a single strip, thuspermitting some individual selection of what colors of bioluminescentmaterials to display at any given time. Either bioluminescent, photoluminescent, fluorescent, chemiluninescent or phosphorescent materials,or a combination thereof, can be employed as useful in the presentinvention, as each of such substances can be encapsulated in a mannerthat when the frangible encapsulation is broken, the illuminatingaspects of the material enclosed in the frangible shell canluminescence. For written description and enablement support for variousembodiments, the following are incorporated herein by this reference intheir entireties: U.S. Pat. No. 7,980,203 to Rubottom; 20130247841 toStoffels, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,040 to Axel.

In certain embodiments, the encapsulated, frangible enclosures resemblein some respects so-called blister-packaging, with desired materialwithin such “blisters” selected from the group of acetone, solvents,chemiluminescent material, glow-in-the-dark material, perfumes,deodorants, masking agents, color change agents, hunting scents thatconceal a hunter's natural body odor from a hunted animal, and insectrepellents. One of skill in the art will appreciate, however, that stillnumerous other compounds, substances, chemicals, etc. of various usescan be included in various embodiments of the present invention,especially those that require desired temporal release of material intoan absorbent material so that such material either remains in contactwith a desired surface for per-determined amount of time, oralternatively, is permitted to evaporate or vaporize into thesurrounding atmosphere so as to distribute the desired agent for thepurpose at hand. In one particular embodiment, an extract of themushroom L. squarrosulus having p53 tumor combating abilities isemployed. For example, with respect to blister-type packages, theblisters can be pressed on to cause a fracture thereof, thus releasingthe enclosed material into absorbent material, another less frangibleenclosure, etc.

Desired material to encapsulate, such as perfumes, insect repellents,solvents, etc. are often expensive and generally less cost effectivewhen employed at high levels in personal care compositions, cleaningcompositions, and protective chemical agents for humans or pets. As aresult, there is a desire to maximize the effectiveness of such desiredmaterials. One method of achieving such an objective is to improve thedelivery efficiency and active lifetime of the desired material. Thiscan be achieved by providing the desired material as a component of amicrocapsule. Microcapsules provide several benefits. They have thebenefit of protecting the desired material from physical or chemicalreactions with incompatible ingredients in the composition,volatilization or evaporation. Microcapsules have the further advantagein that they can deliver the desired material to the substrate and canbe designed to rupture under desired conditions. Microcapsules are madeeither by supporting the desired material on a water-insoluble porouscarrier or by encapsulating the desired material in a water-insolubleshell. In the latter category microencapsulates are made byprecipitation and deposition of polymers at the interface, such as incoacervates, for example as disclosed in US Patent publication20110152159; GB-A-0 751 600, U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,466 and EP-A-0 385 534,or other polymerisation routes such as interfacial condensation U.S.Pat. No. 3,577,515, US-A-2003/0125222, U.S. Pat. No. 6,020,066,WO2003/101606, U.S. Pat. No. 5,066,419. A particularly useful means ofencapsulation is using the melamine/urea-formaldehyde condensationreaction as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,516,941, 5,066,419 and5,154,842, all of the above references which are incorporated herein intheir entireties by this reference. Such capsules are made by firstemulsifying a desired material in small droplets in a pre-condensatemedium obtained by the reaction of melamine/urea and formaldehyde andthen allowing the polymerisation reaction to proceed along withprecipitation at the oil-water interface. The encapsulates range in sizefrom a few micrometer to a millimeter are then obtained in a suspensionform in an aqueous medium. The microcapsules preferably comprise anominal shell to core mass ratio lower than 15%, preferably lower than10% and most preferably lower than 5%. Hence, the microcapsules may haveextremely thin and frangible shells. The compositions of the presentinvention may be encapsulated within a water-soluble film. Thewater-soluble film may be made from polyvinyl alcohol or other suitablevariations, carboxy methyl cellulose, cellulose derivatives, starch,modified starch, sugars, PEG, waxes, or combinations thereof. In anotherembodiment the water-soluble film may include a co-polymer of vinylalcohol and a carboxylic acid. The water-soluble film herein may alsocomprise ingredients other than the polymer or polymer material. Forexample, it may be beneficial to add plasticisers, for example glycerol,ethylene glycol, diethyleneglycol, propane diol, 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol, sorbitol and mixtures thereof, additional water, disintegratingaids, fillers, anti-foaming agents, emulsifying/dispersing agents,and/or antiblocking agents.

One will appreciate that this summary of the Invention is not intendedto be all encompassing and that the scope of the invention nor itsvarious embodiments, let alone the most important ones, are necessarilyencompassed by the above description. One of skill in the art willappreciate that the entire disclosure, as well as the incorporatedreferences, pictures, etc. will provide a basis for the scope of thepresent invention as it may be claimed now and in future applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of prior art methods of removing fingernail polish.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fingernail with an adhesivelyassociated strip of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a pre-made sheet of fingernail strips thatcan be dissociated with the sheet and individually applied tofingernails.

FIG. 4 is a side view of one embodiment of a strip where an outer layerprecludes escape of vapors emanating from the nail polish removingagent; the adhesive layer or portion is adjacent the other side'sprotective and removable layer, and the nail polish removing agent iscontained there between.

FIG. 5 is a side view of one embodiment where polish removing agent isencapsulated into small beads.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of one embodiment of the present inventionshowing a top cover, a layer of acetone beads, an absorbent pad beneaththe same and a removable backing associated therewith.

FIG. 7 is one embodiment showing an encapsulation of a materialsubstance inside a frangible inner container, surrounded by absorbentmaterial, e.g. a popule embodiment.

FIG. 8 is another embodiment of a frangible capsule/ampule with anabsorbent covering

FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing showing the head portion of a dog wearinga collar having a strip according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic drawing showing the wrist and hand portion of aperson wearing a wristband with a strip according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing showing the lower leg and foot portion ofa person wearing an ankle band with a strip according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic drawing showing the upper body portion of aperson wearing a shirt with a repellent pocket strip according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic drawing showing a chair with strips according tothe present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic drawing showing a canoe with strips attachedaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic drawing showing a tent with strips attachedaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is generally a nail polish removal system shown inthe figures. The system 10 includes multiple strips having associatedpads impregnated with either an acetone-based or non-acetone basedsolvent that is effective at dissolving nail polish. Depending on whattypes of nails are put in contact with the pads 12, such as natural orsynthetic nails, the type of solvent to be applied is significant.Although other solvent formulations are contemplated by the presentinvention, the solvent formulation of the preferred embodiment ispreferably acetone based, as it has outperformed most non-acetone basedformulations, However, the present invention is not limited to the useof acetone containing formulations and includes, for example, otherformulations including a mixture of methylacetyl, dimethylketal, anddeionized water. A feature of the present invention is the use of aneffective amount of solvent in combination with pads 12 to achieveremoval of nail polish with the amount of solvent with which pads 12 areimpregnated preferably being predetermined and controlled so that excesssolvent does not create droplets or spillage from pads 12.

Strips are preferably sized and shaped to match up with a person'sfingernails or toenails, and as such, different sized versions ofpre-fabricated strips are contemplated as a best mode for distributionand use. Preferably the strips are relatively thin and include a padhaving a diameter of at least 7.5 centimeters. The thickness of pads 12is sufficient to contain the amount of polish removing solvent, and thusmay vary due to the particular solvent used. In most embodiments,however, the strips and associated pads are preferably between 0.5millimeter and 3 millimeters, more preferably less than about 2millimeters, and more preferably less than 1 millimeter. Although othertypes of fabrics or materials are contemplated, such as cotton basedmaterials, pads 12 are preferably made of spunlaced fabric. The use ofspunlaced fabric avoids fibers or filaments from becoming attached tothe nails during the nail polish removal process, which can thereafterhinder smooth polishing and/or require additional labor to achieve cleannails. Furthermore, the spunlaced fabric is soft and pliable. Thesefeatures enhance the nail polish removal process because the user canmore easily manipulate the pads to effectively and accurately remove thenail polish.

The dimensions of pads are predetermined to easily cover the entire nailto achieve maximum contact between the impregnated solvent and the nail.It will be apparent to those skilled in the art of nail polish removalsystems that many modifications and substitutions can be made to thepreferred embodiment described above without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention.

One particularly desirable aspect of many of the embodiments of thepresent invention is the reduction in undesired odor or fumes arisingfrom the conventional or typical methods used to remove finger andtoe-nail polish and artificial nails. For example, the covering providedthat overlies the saturated pads of nail-polish removing formulationsprecludes a significant amount of vapors form otherwise being evaporatedinto the air, thus reducing the air around the nail customer, as well asthe nail clinician, from breathing in such fumes. This has an especiallyadvantageous safety aspect to various embodiments of the presentinvention. More than one odor-reducing layer can be employed and thevarious embodiments may employ at least two, at least three or at leastfour separate layers of material over-lying the absorbent pad materialthat contains the nail polish removing agents. Such layers may be of thesame or similar material, or may be selected for their distinctproperties, such as flexibility, ability to avoid having odorousmaterials from passing there through; their porosity; their color,brittleness; degradability, etc. In certain embodiments, the nail polishremoving agent is in a gelled or semi-solid state such that it does notdrip or move from the strip/pad, but rather remains adhered to the sameso that it can be placed or positioned appropriately on a nail surface,where it can contain and direct nail polish remover to the nail surfaceto dissolve the layer of polish thereon.

In various embodiments, the nail removal strips or tabs are providedwith an easily gripped, packet of individual or multiple tabs/stripssuch that the protective backing of each tab (or a set thereof) is ableto be removed to expose the adhesive bonding surface that is itselfassociated with the nail polish removing surface of the nail polishremoval device.

In other embodiments, the nail-polish removing agent can be encapsulatedin a frangible shell or small enclosure so that it is not released in afashion that can be absorbed by the pad fabric or other material untildesired. Thus, as shown in some of the figures, small acetone containingbeads 11 can be provided between two layers, with an upper layer beingof a substantially odor impervious material and the lower material ofthe lower layer being removable so that when it is, the beads areamenable to being broken or fractured, thus releasing their contentsonto both the nail surface and or into an adjacent absorbent pad, suchpad associated with the top layer.

For ease of complying with written description and enablementrequirements, the following references are incorporated herein in theirentireties, especially as it relates the various acetone-based andnon-acetone based compounds and solutions and formulations that can beemployed in various embodiments of the present invention: U.S. Pat. No.5,823,203 to Carroll et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,485 to Dutton-Davis etal.; 20030127104 to Tyre; 20060283470 to Keogh; 20070107745 to Kiyomoto;20070287647 to Hadry; 20080142405 to Knapp; 20100204076 to CHENG;20100305491 to Baschnagel; 20080060550 to MacDonald; U.S. Pat. No.7,806,877 to Kang et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,904 to Kinseley et al.;U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,253 to Anhauser et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,428 toSong; U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,985 to Allen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,073to Keller; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,415,903 and 5,525,389 to Hoffman et al.Also incorporated by reference herein in their entireties are thefollowing issued patents and published applications: 20040142830 toTavares; 20080039812 to Kang; U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,393 to Laipply.

In one embodiment, the present invention includes a nail cover of amaterial sized to proximate the size of a user's fingertip or toenailand configured to have a top wall, a bottom wall and an inside surfacefurther comprising adhesive disposed on at least a portion thereof tocontact the a nail. In other embodiments, the strips of the presentinvention include a self-adhesive laminate, shapeable to toe andfingernails, containing a film-forming polymer layer containing at leastone plasticizer, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer located thereon,and a carrier film which covers the pressure-sensitive adhesive layerand can be removed.

In still other embodiments, the present invention includes a transferadhesive sheet that has a series of precut areas of transfer adhesivefor applying a predetermined nail shape to a person's nail. The transferadhesive tabs may be fabricated as sheet material that includes anadhesive protected by a bottom layer liners positioned on the side ofthe adhesive, such as adhesives used in securing false plastic fingernail. Preferably the adhesive is just around the periphery of the nailregion and more preferably is adhesive that is less adhesive than theadhesives used to adhere fake fingernails to nails (e.g. because theadhesive must merely be sufficient to hold the strips/tabs of thepresent invention in contact with the nail until the nail polishremoving agent can dissolve the polish it contacts, e.g. about 1-2minutes, more preferably at least about 3 minutes and less than about 10minutes. Methods of producing such sheet material of transfer adhesivetabs will be apparent (with the guidance herein provided) to those ofskill in the art but include the steps of applying an adhesive layer tothe surface of a first material—which may be associated with the padthat is to be saturated with acetone or like material. The sheetmaterial may be manufactured in small pieces or in a long piece formedinto a roll. Roll material is generally manufactured in a continuousprocess which is typically more economical than making small pieces suchas letter or A4 size or other sizes. The roll can be cut into suchsmaller sizes if desired. The protective substrate will preferablyeasily peel away from the adhesive. Preferably the maximum adhesive ison such sheets is five thousandths of an inch and having a thicknessabout one-half of one thousandth of an inch. In other embodiments,however, the thickness of the pad beneath the outer layer protectivelayer is fairly thick (like a dime or a penny) to facilitate theabsorbance and retention of a sufficient amount of nail polish removingmaterial.

One aspect of various embodiments relates to the use of a solubilizedmixture composed of an electron-donating color-developing organiccompound selected from pyridines, quinazolines, and bisquinozolines; anelectron-accepting compound serving as a color-developer for the abovecompound; and a reaction medium for coloring and the above compound in aspecified temperature range. Such compositions develop fluorescent colorof yellow, yellowish orange, orange, reddish orange, or red with a highcolor density and high color brightness, yet gives no residual colorunder non-color-developing conditions, and has remarkably improved lightresistance. In this regard, color changing embodiments that can be usedwith the present invention include those set forth in U.S. Pat. No.5,558,700 to Shibahashi et al., incorporated herein by this reference.

In other embodiments, there is a desire to have the odor of acetone oreven non-acetone agents reduced. To accomplish the same, certainembodiments incorporate odour-eliminating products with Cyclodextrins ormore preferably, modified Cyclodextrin as one of its main ingredients. AFebreze-like component can be associated with the strips to achieve thedesired deodorization process, which in some embodiments, involve theentrapment of malodour molecules when they complex with Cyclodextrin andare effectively retained to keep their concentration in the air low.This decreases the volatility of the malodour molecules and causes odourelimination. In a preferred embodiment, hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrinor HPβCD is employed for such purpose, with such component beingpreferably associated with the absorbent pad of the strip, such that itis released and active when the nail polish removing agent is released.

It will be appreciated that various know color changing components canbe employed such that the breakage of encapsulated or micro-encapsulatedbeads of one agent is then made available to react with another agent,which may be, for example, impregnated onto the absorbent pad. Thus, onecan fine tune and select appropriate color change times by the selectionof reactive chemicals that provide a desired color change at a certaintime—preferably about 3-10 minutes after application of the strip to thenail.

In terms of a method, in one embodiment a sheet as described above isselected with appropriate pre-determined fingernail or toenailperforated portions. The individual nail contacting portions are thendetached from the sheet and the protective bottom laminate is removed toexpose the nail contacting surface, i.e. the saturated (or beadcontaining) pad that is contacted with the polished portion of theperson's nail. Preferably there is at least a portion, such a s apreferably, of the strip that maintains the strip in place on the nailduring a period of at least 30 seconds, more preferably for at leastabout 2 minutes and more preferably for up to about 10 minutes. Thistime should be sufficient for the nail polish removing substancesemployed to dissolve the polish. At such time the strips can be removedfrom the nail surface and excess or dissolved polish can be furtherremoved with a cloth, tissue or cotton balls. The use of the strips,however, reduces the amount of odor emanating from the person's treatednails as the top-most protective layer of the strip precludes the freeevaporation of such acetone or nail polish remover substance.

As designed, a device and method embodying the teachings of the presentinvention is easily applied. The foregoing description is included toillustrate the operation of the preferred embodiment and is not meant tolimit the scope of the invention. As one can envision, an individualskilled in the relevant art, in conjunction with the present teachings,would be capable of incorporating many minor modifications that areanticipated within this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of theinvention is to be broadly limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An insect repellent layered strip, consisting of:a first layer comprising an odor impervious material, a second layerthat comprises at least one encapsulated solvent comprisingN,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), a third layer having a solvent absorbentmaterial in the form of a pad, wherein the solvent is encapsulated in afrangible enclosure and is present in an amount of at least about 0.5ml, and wherein breakage of the frangible enclosure releases a freshsupply of said solvent onto said pad.
 2. The insect repellent layeredstrip as set forth in claim 1, wherein said solvent includes a colorchange indicator.
 3. The insect repellent layered strip as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said frangible enclosure is attached to the solventabsorbent material.
 4. The insect repellent layered strip as set forthin claim 1, wherein the frangible enclosure comprisespolytetrafluoroethylene.
 5. The solvent absorbent layered strip as setforth in claim 1, wherein two different solvents are contained in saidfrangible enclosure, with one solvent selected from the group consistingof acetone, dihydronepetalactone and N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide.
 6. Theinsect repellent layered strip as set forth in claim 1, wherein thefrangible enclosure includes at least one of an odor reducer and a colorchange agent.
 7. The insect repellent layered strip as set forth inclaim 1, wherein said solvent absorbent material comprises non-wovenfabrics.
 8. The insect repellent layered strip as set forth in claim 1,wherein the frangible enclosure has a hollow interior that defines areservoir.
 9. The insect repellent layered strip as set forth in claim1, wherein said frangible enclosure comprises a capsule that containsmore than one substance.
 10. The insect repellent layered strip as setforth in claim 1, wherein said first layer forms a barrier between thesolvent and the skin of a user.
 11. The insect repellent layered stripas set forth in claim 1, wherein the insect repellent layered strip isadapted to be placed on a person's body.
 12. The insect repellentlayered strip as set forth in claim 1, wherein the solvent absorbentmaterial has the second layer and the third layer adjacent to eachother.
 13. An insect repellent layered strip, consisting of: a firstlayer comprising an odor impervious material, a second layer thatcomprises an encapsulated solvent comprising N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide(DEET), a third layer in the form of a pad having a solvent absorbentmaterial, wherein the solvent is encapsulated in a frangible enclosurecomprising polytetrafluoroethylene, said solvent being present in anamount of at least about 0.5 ml, said frangible enclosure attached tothe solvent absorbent material, wherein the frangible enclosure has ahollow interior that defines a reservoir wherein said solvent absorbentmaterial retains the DEET by soaking the solvent absorbent material,thereby providing insect repellent protection due to vapors evolvingfrom the soaked solvent absorbent material, the solvent permitted todirectly evaporate from the soaked solvent absorbent material into asurrounding atmosphere of the air surrounding said strip, and whereinbreakage of the frangible enclosure releases a fresh supply of saidsolvent onto said pad.
 14. The insect repellent layered strip as setforth in claim 13, wherein said solvent includes a color changeindicator.
 15. The insect repellent layered strip as set forth in claim13, wherein said frangible enclosure is attached to the solventabsorbent material.
 16. The insect repellent layered strip as set forthin claim 13, wherein the frangible enclosure includes at least one of anodor reducer and a color change agent.
 17. The insect repellent layeredstrip as set forth in claim 13, wherein said solvent absorbent materialcomprises non-woven fabrics.
 18. The insect repellent layered strip asset forth in claim 13, wherein said frangible enclosure comprises acapsule that contains more than one substance.
 19. The insect repellentlayered strip as set forth in claim 13, wherein the insect repellentlayered strip is adapted to be placed on a person's body.
 20. An insectrepellent layered strip, consisting of: a first layer that comprises anodor impervious material, a second layer that comprises an encapsulatedsolvent comprising N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, a third layer in the form ofa pad having a solvent absorbent material, wherein the encapsulatedsolvent is contained within a frangible enclosure comprised ofpolytetrafluoroethylene and wherein said first layer forms a barrierbetween the solvent and the skin of a user, and wherein breakage of thefrangible enclosure releases a fresh supply of said solvent onto saidpad.